NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE. CHAPTER I. CESAREA TO MYRA. (Acts xxvii. 1-6.) AFTER two years' imprisonment at Cæsarea, and after repeated examinations before Felix and Festus, successive Roman governors of Judea, and before King Agrippa, the last of the Herod family, St. Paul appealed unto Cæsar. In consequence of this appeal it was determined that 1 Ως δε εκρίθη του αποπλειν* ἡμας εις την Ιταλιαν, παρεδιδουν τον τε Παυλον και τινας ἑτερους δεσμωτας ἑκατονταρχῃ, ονοματι Ιουλιῳ, σπειρης Σεβαστης. 1 And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus band. * ATOTλew. Literally "to sail from." St. Luke, by his accurate use of nautical terms, gives great precision to his language, and expresses by a single word what would otherwise require several. Mitford observes, that we are often at a loss to render the verb Tλew otherwise than by our word to sail, though they are far from being of the same precise import. The use of oars, so prevalent in Grecian navigation, is so little known in our seas, that to sail is our only general term for going by sea." (Hist. of Greece, ii. 362.) St. Luke alone of the sacred writers uses this nautical term, either simply, or, as in the present instance, in composition. he should be sent, along with other prisoners, by sea to Italy. He was accordingly committed to the charge of a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial band, a person who, upon all occasions, treated the apostle with humanity and consideration. Cæsarea was at that time the principal seaport of Syria.* It would appear, however, that there were no ships bound for Italy in the harbour capable of accommodating the party of Julius, including the prisoners and their guard. He therefore embarked them in a ship of Adramyttium,† a seaport of Mysia, on the eastern shore of the Ægean Sea, opposite Lesbos. This ship was evidently bound for her own port, and her course from Cæsarea thither necessarily led her close past the principal seaports of Asia.‡ * See account of Cæsarea in Josephus, Antiq. xv. 13. Bryant, absurdly enough, supposes that Ptolemais (Acre) was the port of embarkation : and adds, as if it were a mere conjecture, "Grotius is of opinion that they went from Cæsarea:" it would have been quite contrary to St. Luke's usual method to have omitted the land journey from Cæsarea to Ptolemais, had it actually taken place. (See Acts xxi. 7, 8.) + See a very full account of the notices in ancient authors of this place, in Wetstein ad loc. By Asia St. Luke means proconsular Asia, of which Ephesus was the capital, i. e. the western part of Asia Minor, which, according to Cicero, comprehended Caria and Lycia; and, according to St. Luke, did not include Pamphylia. (Acts ii. 9, 10.) By attending to this, we are left in no doubt as to "the places" (Tous (TOTOUS) meant in the text, which they would arrive at by the route they pursued. The places κατα την Ασιαν, which may be translated "along the coast of Asia," were then flourishing sea-ports, three of which are mentioned by St. Luke; namely, Myra (Acts xxvii. 5), Patara (xxi. 1), and Cnidus (xxvii. 7). For an account of the present state of Myra, see Spratt and Forbes, 'Travels in Lycia,' i. 125. It has been observed that the magnitude of ancient cities may be inferred from that of their theatres; the diameter of that of Myra is 360 feet and |